All memory the same?

[LuckyTaxi]

I'm looking to add an additional 512mb of ram to my ibook. I currently have 512, but i would need to sell the 256 stick to add the 512. Anyways, are all memory the same? I've found some for $53 but crucial is selling theirs for $106!

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: lilcam
I'm looking to add an additional 512mb of ram to my ibook. I currently have 512, but i would need to sell the 256 stick to add the 512. Anyways, are all memory the same? I've found some for $53 but crucial is selling theirs for $106!

No, not all memory is the same.

There are many differences, such as size.

Then there is the "bus" speed, or how fast the memory can transmit data. This is the differences you see when you look at DDR memory and see PC3200, PC3700, etc.

Finally, there is latency, or how quickly the memory responds to data read/write requests. The lower this number, the better.

This is a fairly simplified answer, but you get the gist of it. There are indeed differences.

You want to pick memory that has the same "bus" speed as your processor / motherboard (or faster) and some with as low latency as you can afford, typically.

Hope that helps!

 

[fstime]

No, not all memory is the same.

You have almost 4000 posts and dont know this?

The difference from the $53 memory and $106 is probably because the chips are different.


Their rated speed may be higher, etc.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

should've clarify, on this one website, they have generic memory and the high end memory.
Personally, I've never spent money for the more expensive memory such as mushkin.
I've had great success on some of the lower end memory. Thats what I meant, I know PC3200 cost more than pc2700.

 

[cjgallen]

Originally posted by: lilcam
should've clarify, on this one website, they have generic memory and the high end memory.
Personally, I've never spent money for the more expensive memory such as mushkin.
I've had great success on some of the lower end memory. Thats what I meant, I know PC3200 cost more than pc2700.

I know what you mean, I always go for the cheap stuff, even the generic stuff.

The only brand that I've ever had a problem with is OCZ.

 

[Nick5324]

Originally posted by: lilcam
should've clarify, on this one website, they have generic memory and the high end memory.
Personally, I've never spent money for the more expensive memory such as mushkin.
I've had great success on some of the lower end memory. Thats what I meant, I know PC3200 cost more than pc2700.

As PC3200 has become much more "standard", the price difference is very little anymore. In fact, i've seen mulitple cases where the PC2700 was a few bucks more, go figure. Of course, this is in ref. to desktop memory, not laptop.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: lilcam
Thats what I meant, I know PC3200 cost more than pc2700.

Actuallly you might be able to find PC3200 cheaper than PC2700. 😉


I've heard that Mac's are picky about their memory, but I don't know.